Gullywash is over, and Platinum looks practically identical. Every single game was a 5-0, mostly a result of practically no close matchups. We head to Pro Viaduct, the product of countless scrims, matches and PUGs refining its strategy and the map itself. Unlike Gullywash, Viaduct should result in a few more things to talk about, with several interesting matchups overall across the board.

Rankings

Despite facing a team that had no realistic chance of beating them, .knd have had significant changes to their team. Internal discussions led to their Sniper and Scout switching spots, as Scizor returns to Scout, the class he played up until .knd's underdog season. Corsa also returns to an old main, although it's not been so long since he last played HL Sniper, playing up until bote's 4th place finish last season. This change is by no means permanent, as it's just a test to see if the setup works out. While it's difficult to fathom a situation where Corsa and Scizor won't perform admirably, only time will tell if the change will stick.

The bote sails on, after making quick work of the Buffalo buffalo. A huge game on Viaduct should be a significant changer for them, as if they win against mTs then they've got a great chance of going undefeated. They're a solid team that no doubt has the potential to achieve that goal, but as it stands, their game with mTs is still up in the air, and a loss there is certainly not out of the cards.

mTs continues to move forward with their Week 1 game in limbo, but are certainly not too concerned about it. A 5-0 against Ginyu Hoops proved that any concerns about mTs's roster shakeups. Milo's been playing with them for their Viaduct scrims (all two of them), and was recently rostered, so it's safe to assume that he'll be playing in replacement of Sheep. They face their first "playoff-bound" team this season in bote, and are no doubt eager to emulate the Viaduct game the two teams had last season, with mTs showing a dominant presence.

After a 5-0 victory against ·aMw· that solidifies the top/bottom dichotomy of this season, dK sits in the fourth spot, rounding out the supposed "playoff-bound" teams. They've sadly only had one connection to any of the higher teams, that being sharing a victory against Ginyu Hoops with mTs. A check of the scores and broadcasts from both those games will show mTs with a significantly stronger showing than dK, so until Karl and Co start facing down the other three teams, their scoring will be solely based off of the mid/low Plat teams they face. An upcoming game against .knd should give a little more insight, but for Viaduct they'll have to be content facing down the last potential upset team.

With a straight up loss against mTs, the numbers are not looking in their favor. They've lost against two of the playoff-bound teams now, and facing bote on Steel and .knd on Glassworks is not an ideal setup if they want to grab victories there. They've currently scrimmed less than five times, most of those being against ·aMw· as a pregame. Unless Ginyu's mindset changes soon, the playoff math may soon spell their doom.

·aMw· seems intent on the rest of their name being 'to change their roster', as Munky returns, signaling Digresser to head back to Pyro. Napalm, their Sniper, takes up the Soldier spot for the week, as Noble is unable to further commit to starting. They pick up Jake to play Sniper for Viaduct, which is no doubt a name most people don't want to have to face. With such a turbulent roster, their two upcoming games could go sour for them, as both are winnable games in theory.

The $avages have had a pretty calm introduction to Platinum up until now, but will be in for a rude awakening once Dunning Kruger comes knocking on their door. While it's rather terrifying to face b4nny on Viaduct,.$$ are by no means down and out. Their game against ·aMw· on Steel will also matter, especially if they do lose, as it'll insulate them against dropping down spots. There's no reason to believe that .$$ won't be a pushover this week, though. A win here would mean a lot, for team morale and the ability to schedule scrims.

While teams improve over a season no doubt, Funkblasters have mostly confined themselves, score-wise, to the bottom three spots, after losses against both .$$ and ·aMw·. They now have to hope to avoid losses against .buffalo and eHarmony, as they'll be unlikely to take victories anywhere else. They're a solid team with potential, but it'll be difficult to provide any upsets if their last two games are a good indicator of their performance this season.

The IFA replacements have received their first taste of high Plat, but now return to their own level to face off against eHarmony in hopes of taking a win. Funkblasters will face them soon as well, giving them another possible win, but they need to not look too ahead, as a loss against eHarmony is certainly a possibility.

There was little chance to upset .knd, despite the connotations between Gullywash and .knd. They're hoping to take victories against the other teams in low Plat that they can go toe-to-toe with, but if they lose against those, it'll be incredibly difficult to secure even a single victory this season.

Matches

While people find it easy to downtalk Ginyu due to their performance, especially against the top 4, they're not a low Plat team by any means. They're incredibly potent, and while ·aMw· will no doubt be putting in significant effort, even scrims against each other indicate a clear dominance on the part of Ginyu. 4-1 in favor of Ginyu Hoops.

A fantastic matchup with fantastic teams. They faced each other last season on Viaduct as well, with mTs denying any ringers that bote would request, resulting in a 4-1 loss for bote. Freestate, their Demo at the time, was MIA, and none of the subs on their team were proficient in Demoman. They ended up having to play with Vacationer, who is a fantastic player, but certainly not known for his Demoman abilities. bote is looking a lot stronger this season, and an already close game of last season should be even more winnable for bote. While mTs are no pushover team, memories of last season may be fueling the bote, meaning a fantastic match between likely even teams will be underway. 4-3 in favor of Muma and the Seamen.

The $ilver $avages take their first plunge into the difficulties of Platinum, after facing a few lower teams. dK is a team with a reputation, which they certainly plan to uphold through the week. While .$$ certainly have a chance at victory, dK will no doubt be running at full force in order to dispatch any dreams of an upset, before focusing their attention on the higher up teams. 4-2 in favor of Dunning-Kruger Effect.

The $ilver $avages take their first plunge into the difficulties of Platinum, after facing a few lower teams. dK is a team with a reputation, which they certainly plan to uphold through the week. While .$$ certainly have a chance at victory, dK will no doubt be running at full force in order to dispatch any dreams of an upset, before focusing their attention on the higher up teams. 4-2 in favor of Dunning-Kruger Effect.

Each of these teams will have trouble bringing home wins elsewhere, so they're no doubt going to put in as much as they can into this game to secure a win that they may otherwise be unable to get. eHarmony's had some questionable roster troubles for most of the season, so if .buffalo can rally together, they may be able to exploit the lack of cohesion in the eHarmony gang. 4-2 in favor of Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buff.

What is there to say? One one hand, you have the two-time victors of Plat, the team who is redefining what it means to work together. On the other hand, you have what for all intents and purposes is a new Platinum team. There should be no reason for .knd to even lose a round, allowing Corsa and Scizor to try out their swap on an easy note. 4-0 in favor of Kids Next Door.